Morecambe family butchers to expand creating new jobs

Planning consent has been granted for a state-of-the-art meat facility in Morecambe which will create new jobs and supply some of the UK’s top hotels, restaurants and retailers.

Harrison Pitt Architects has designed the purpose-built facility which will be built at Hillside Farm on behalf of Althams Butchers.

The company, which employs more than 100 staff and supplies prime beef, pork, lamb and fine foods, has outgrown its existing premises at White Lund.

A free-range pork farm that previously operated from the Hillside Farm site closed in 2012 and the farmhouse and outbuildings have been unused since. The buildings will make way for a 5,100 sq m facility that will feature the latest preparation, packing and refrigeration facilities.

Richard Parker, a director of Harrison Pitt Architects, said: “We’re delighted that Althams Butchers can now move forward with its expansion plans, an aspiration that wasn’t possible with the constraints of its existing premises.

“This new facility will allow the business to operate more efficiently and will also provide an economic boost to the area by allowing around 20-25 new jobs to be created.

“This is another project that demonstrates our expertise in building design for the food manufacturing sector.”

The building, which will be clad in timber, has been designed to give the appearance of a series of linked agricultural barns.

On-site parking and cycle storage feature and Althams Butchers intends to provide a shuttle bus to offer transport to employees travelling from Heysham and Morecambe.

Established in 1856 by Thomas Altham, a local farmer, Althams Butchers is still an independent family-owned business.

Today the business is operated by Thomas Altham’s great, great grandsons James and Richard Altham.